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áóLucas Vsquez de Aylln was the first European to explore and map the Chesapeake Bay. He established a short-lived Spanish mission settlement, "San Miguel de Guadalupe", in the early 16th century near the future site of Jamestown.
Captain John Smith of England explored and mapped the bay between 1607 and 1609. In July 2006, President George W. Bush signed into law a bill creating the "Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail", the United States' first-ever all-water National Historic Trail. The bill passed by voice vote in the House of Representatives and by unainimous consent in the Senate.[3]
The Chesapeake Bay was the site of the Battle of the Chesapeake in 1781, during which the French fleet defeated the Royal Navy in the decisive naval battle of the American Revolutionary War.
Today, the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant uses water from the bay to cool its reactor.
The bay is also known for the Chesapeake Bay Retriever, a dog breed developed in this area
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